1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fencing composed of concrete columns and panels and a method for constructing such fencing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several patents exist for column and panel concrete fencing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,584 of Joseph H. Wieser utilizes concrete columns or posts having slots for receiving concrete panels between the posts.
Since the columns of U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,584 are solid structures, they are necessarily quite heavy. Moreover, when they are cast, at least one side must necessarily be adjacent to the mold and, therefore, has a rough, aesthetically displeasing outer surface. The disadvantage of weight and rough appearance also exists for the panels.
Moreover, there appears to be no means of directly connecting steel reinforcing rods in the panels to steel reinforcing rods in the columns to meet seismic building codes, although an external strap does loosely connect panels to columns.
The concrete noise barrier in U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,090 of Nicholas W. Melfi, similarly has solid columns and panels. The problem with weight is alleviated somewhat for the panels by dividing each panel about a horizontal plane. No similar remedial technique is, however, employed for the columns. And the aesthetic difficulty has not been solved.
Again, no means is provided for connecting reinforcing rods in the panels to reinforcing rods in the columns. Even the loose external strap of U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,584 is not employed to assist with seismic safety.
The barrier in U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,249 consists essentially of a series of Z-shaped sections that can be connected to one another. There is no true column, although the ends of each section--when connected to the ends of successive section--create a structure that resembles a column. Having, thus, essentially combined the panel and the column into a single unit, the problem with weight has been exacerbated, even though some remediation may occur through the division of the sections along horizontal planes, in a manner similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,090. There is, however, no mitigation for the aesthetic problem when the sections are formed from concrete.
Moreover, the sections cannot attain the appearance of a traditional fence; they must be joined in a zigzag fashion. Nor can adjoining sections, because of the U-shaped configuration for edge surfaces 30 and 38, meet one another at an angle of 90.degree. or less. Additionally, there appears to be no way to connect reinforcing rods in the sections to reinforcing rods extending from the footing 118 in order to meet seismic building codes. Finally, no handling devices to facilitate construction of the barrier wall are described; and the angling of sections of the wall toward the automobile depicted in FIG. 8 demonstrate that, in a collision between the wall and the car, unless the car turns more than 45.degree. toward the wall, there would be a greater component of force exerted by the car against the wall than the car would exert against a standard fence which is built parallel to the highway.